Vol. No. 34, Aug 25, 2019

209 S Miller Street

(478) 825-5725

Fax (478) 825-0159

Website: www.fbcfv.com

Email : info@fbcfv.com

Church Staff: Rev. Ed McQueen, Pastor Elizabeth McQueen, Music Director Jacob Whitehead, Youth Director Melanie Wiswell, Admin. Assistant

August Memory Verse

But make sure that in your hearts you honor Christ as Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who

asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it. But do it gently and with respect.

I Peter 3:15 (NIRV)

Aug 25

Sunday Nights in August @ 6pm

Invite a Friend….

From My Heart

to Yours….

What is it that God wants from you most of all? I am sure that people would answer that question in a variety of ways, yet the Bible tells us that Jesus has already answered that question plainly. When He was asked what commandment was the greatest of all He replied: “Love the Lord you God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” (Mark 12:30) I think sometimes we Christians can glide too quickly over these verses and not give them the weight and reflection they deserve. “Well, of course, I love God. That goes without saying,” we might quickly respond. So let us give a little more thought to this this week. For one thing, Jesus words remind us that at its core, Christianity is not about religious rituals/activities, carrying out certain commands, attending services, citing certain creeds, or believing certain doctrines—it is relationally based and centered. We were created by God to be loved by God and to love Him back. God loves us with a great love and when we understand it and experience it, we want to love Him back. Alexander McClaren said; “The loving kindness of God opens a fountain of answering affection in our hearts.” Applied to our lives, loving God with our whole being suggests that loving Him becomes my most important concern and pleasing Him my main ambition. It is natural for us to organize our lives into different categories like work or school, family, hobbies/recreation, financial matters and spiritual life. But when we put life together this way it is easy for loving God to be a segment of our lives (a piece of the pie) instead of effecting every dimension of life. “To love God we must give a total love, a love which dominates our thoughts, a love which is the dynamic of our actions.” When we love God wholeheartedly we love Him for who He is, not just for what He can do for us. It means we love the Giver even apart from his gifts. We love God for Himself not just or how He can benefit us, bless us, and answer our prayers. Psalm 27:8— “My heart says of you, ‘seek His face.’ Your face Lord will I seek.” I once heard someone say about that verse that most of the time we ask for God’s hand (that He would act to bless us) instead of seeking his face (to seek to know God’s nature and character). To love God with all that we are means we do not love God just to get blessed or healed or spared. We love God unconditionally as He loves us. And when we apply Jesus words on loving God to our lives, it must surely mean that I put Him first in my life. How could I truly say I love God with all my heart if in everyday life I put lots of other things ahead of Him. Throughout the college football season the team rankings change often week-by-week. Who is ranked #1 this week may be replaced as #1 by another team beneath them. I am afraid we sometimes do this with God. We

Tuesday, Sep 3 2pm-7pm

Fellowship Hall

might say, God is first in my life but in our time talents and

finances we may rank other interests ahead of Him. When

we give God the first part of each day, the first day of each

week to worship Him, the first 10% of our income, and first

consideration in our decisions then God will know we love

him like we say we do!

He cares, I care,

Brother Ed

DEACON ORDINATION Of

BOB ADAMS Sept 8, 2019 9am Service

Church family, it is time to pack book bags for the Southern Baptist Christmas Backpack outreach for Appalachia. This year we are targeting 50 girls ages 8-11. Through your generous donations, we already have collected 50 Jansport book bags, 50 stuffed animals, and 50 washcloths. We still need the following items listed below.

hats or gloves 14 needed

art or craft kits 21 needed

markers 31 needed

pairs of socks 10 needed

cans of pop top food 100 needed cans no plastic containers

any other item a young girl might enjoy Jo Anne Hopkins Dollie Jackson

Bended Knee Society

Wednesdays 7am-8am Church Library

Come and join us and learn to glorify God in the way we eat, move and think!

Wednesdays @ 8:15am Exercise Days: Monday & Friday @ 8:15am

Nathan the prophet comes to David after his adultery and murder and says, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 2 Samuel 12:13–14 This is outrageous. Uriah is dead.

Bathsheba is raped. The baby will die. And Nathan says, “The Lord has put away your sin.” Just like that? David committed adultery. He ordered murder. He lied. He “despised the word of the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:9). He scorned God. And the Lord simply “put away his sin”? What kind of a righteous Judge is God? You don’t just pass over rape and murder and lying. Righteous judges don’t do that. This was one of Paul’s greatest theological problems — very different from the ones people struggle with today: how can God forgive sin and still be righteous? Here is what Paul said in Romans 3:25–26: God put Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Je-sus. In other words, the outrage that we feel when God seems to simply pass over David’s sin would be good outrage if God were simply sweeping David’s sin under the rug. He is not. God sees, from the time of David, down the centuries to the death of his Son, Jesus Christ, who would die in David’s place, so that David’s faith in God’s mercy and God’s future redeeming work unites David with Christ. And in God’s all-knowing mind, David’s sins are counted as Christ’s sins and Christ’s righteousness is counted as his righteousness, and God justly passes over David’s sin for Christ’s sake. The death of the Son of God is outrageous enough, and the glory of God that it upholds is great enough, that God is vindicated in passing over David’s adultery and murder and lying. And ours. And so God maintains his perfect righteousness and justice while at the same time showing mercy to those who have faith in Jesus, no matter how many or how monstrous their sins. This is great news for all of us. God knows how to handle these situations so much better than we do, even though sometimes we don’t feel that way. Let’s remember that this week. -Jacob

Struggling to cope with life? Marriage need a tune up? Feeling down, sad all the time? Angry all the time?

Lost a loved one? We are here to help. Call to schedule an appointment (478-822-0033)

Most insurances accepted.

Partnered in ministry with FBC

Fellowship Hall

Tuesdays 6:30pm-8:30pm

Are you filling your water bottles with loose

change? You can bring the full bottles early and

give to Belinda or drop off in the church office.

Need a new one?

Pick one up in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall!

Sunday, Sept 8, 9am service

Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30

Closed for lunch 12:00-12:45

Friday 8:30-2:30

Weekly Calendar

Sunday Aug 25 9:00 Traditional Service 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Contemporary Service 5:30 Youth Service 6:00 Summer Concert Series

Wednesday Aug 28 7:00am Bended Knee Society 8:15am Daniel Plan 6:00pm Youth/Children Activities 6:30pm Prayer Meeting 7:35pm Choir Rehearsal

Counting Committee Bob Hunnicutt Cecil Borum Jennifer Matias

August Usher Rick Hudson

THE MESSENGER (USPS 591-140) is published weekly except for Christmas by First Baptist Church, 209 S. Miller St, Fort Valley, GA 31030, Periodical postage paid at Fort Valley, GA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to First Baptist Church, 209 S Miller St, Fort Valley, GA 31030.

Meeting Mon Sep 16 @ 10am Church

Library

Church office closed Sept 2 in observance of Labor Day

Lizella Baptist Church

The perfect Fall Retreat for your marriage!